New Fish From Shropshire

[newfish84]

Hello everyone!

my name is Liz and I live in Telford with my boyfriend, 2 cats and 4 rats!! Ever since I was a child I've wanted a tropical tank. I recently came into a bit of extra money and have finally decided to look at fulfilling my dream.

I've seen the tank I want, it's a 200 litre hagen fluval tank, it comes with the stand, light and filter.
I haven't bought it yet, I'm doing lots of reading, I just finished a book called 'the perfect aquarium'.

I live in a first floor flat so atm my OH and I are just working out the logistics of where it can go.
I'm planning on setting up a tropical tank and planting it heavily to enable removal of nitrates and ammonia (hope I've got that right!!), where's the best place to site a tank?
Someone told me that the tank has to be placed over the joists that run under the floorboards, apparently the joists run the opposite way to the floorboards so how do I find out where they are in any given room?
How much does it cost to run a tank from an electricity point of view?

How long does fishless cycling take?

How many fish can I put in a 200 litre tank? the dimensions are 3.3ft wide x 1.3ft deep x 1.8ft high.
Do I have to prune the plants in my tank, and if so how do I do it and how often?


I'm sure I'll have more questions as I think of them!!
I am hoping to get my tank week after next as I have a block of time off and can begin setting it up.

Looking forward to reading more on the forum and meeting everyone!

 

[Davehutton92]

first off welcome to the forum

to answer your 1st question about the floor joists yes you should place it across the joist this will help spread the load of the tank, to find out which way the board runs simply lift a corner of your carpet and look which way the floor boards go the joists will run the opposite direction they will be spaced roughly evry 400mm across the room so there will be one where you put the tank dont worry

as for the electricity it really is negligible i havent noticed a change in my electric bill at all if im honest and thats with 2 tanks running and a outdoor pond

fishless cycle usually takes between 4-8 weeks as a rough guide

the amount of fish you put in your tank depends on things such as there adult size ( remember they wont stay as small when u buy them they will grow) also a point to note some fish like to stay with there own kind we recommend a group of 6 for these sort of fish (neon tetra etc)

plants is something im struggling at the moment with myself at the moment but they do look great, plants will need pruning eventually the rate at which they grow depends on lots of factors such as light nutrients and co2 , if it is your 1st tank i would recommend opting for a low tech set up for your plants its cheaper then high tech and less pruning will be required or more info on this i suggest you go to the plants and planted section and have a read in there they will know more then me

hope you enjoy the forum and find it useful i know i have, anymore questions feel free to ask

 

[newfish84]

first off welcome to the forum

to answer your 1st question about the floor joists yes you should place it across the joist this will help spread the load of the tank, to find out which way the board runs simply lift a corner of your carpet and look which way the floor boards go the joists will run the opposite direction they will be spaced roughly evry 400mm across the room so there will be one where you put the tank dont worry

as for the electricity it really is negligible i havent noticed a change in my electric bill at all if im honest and thats with 2 tanks running and a outdoor pond

fishless cycle usually takes between 4-8 weeks as a rough guide

the amount of fish you put in your tank depends on things such as there adult size ( remember they wont stay as small when u buy them they will grow) also a point to note some fish like to stay with there own kind we recommend a group of 6 for these sort of fish (neon tetra etc)

plants is something im struggling at the moment with myself at the moment but they do look great, plants will need pruning eventually the rate at which they grow depends on lots of factors such as light nutrients and co2 , if it is your 1st tank i would recommend opting for a low tech set up for your plants its cheaper then high tech and less pruning will be required or more info on this i suggest you go to the plants and planted section and have a read in there they will know more then me

hope you enjoy the forum and find it useful i know i have, anymore questions feel free to ask

thankyou for those answers they are very helpful!!
I had a quick read of the plant tech set ups, and low tech equals low lighting, so how do I do that? Just not have a light at all in my tank and site it opposite a window? will that be enough light to enable the plants to grow?

I'm not really sure what my first fish are going to be, although my fish book says that danios and platies are quite hardy and forgiving of any mistakes!! I also read that platies are live bearers though, while baby fish sound cute I don't really want babies just yet lol.

 

[Davehutton92]

most tanks will have a lighting unit with them, we consider low lighting as 1 watt of light per gallon iv never tryed growing plants just by sunlight as im fairly new at it but i think they will need some sort of lighting.

as for the platies they breed very quickly and you can be over run by them to avoid this simply buy all males and yes they are hardy fish

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Hi and Welcome,

I always advise a trip to your local LFS (Local Fish Store) to get a better idea of fish, take a look, make some notes and then come back here and tell us what you like and we will be able to advise you properly.

With plants, low tech is generally what most people use, it simply means, less powerful lighting, no CO2 injected and no/some nutrients added. This means that you cant keep 'some' plants. But most plants available at your LFS will probably be ok

You will need to find out what the bulbs are, T5, T8 etc and the wattage of them. Generally like mentioned above, low tech is generally less than 1.5 wpg but this can depend on if it is T5 or T8...

Positioning your tank in front of a window or in direct sunlight will cause unneccessary algae growth, so we dont recommend it. With pruning etc, it depends on the different plants, but thats something we can help you with later on.

For now just consider getting your tank up and running, doing a fishless cycling whilst considering the fish you like. Take a browse in Members Aquariums and Fish pics and also the Planted Aquarium Journals for some inspiration down the line...

Good Luck

 

[XeroTolerance]

to the forums.

 

[colleen0309]

Good morning and welcome!

 

[Blubble37]

Welcome to the forum liz, i wish you succesful and happy fishkeeping!